REVIEW – BOOZE & GLORY

Booze & Glory may have been raised on the mean street of London, but they now see themselves as an international collective signed to Sweden’s legendary Burning Heart Records.

Chapter lV is the bands fouth release and we’re told 2017 is set to be their busiest year to date.

The four piece have stuck to their guns with this release, with a raw faux Irish sound that bursts out of the traps from the albums opener Days, Months, Years.

With a brilliant, catchy chorus of ‘days turn into weeks, turn into months, turn into years’ the London skinheads create a full blooded opener that’s much more in tune with Irish punk than the crystal clear, polished punk the Dropkicks are creating.

West Ham mad, Booze & Glory, have always kept the Hammers close to their heart. Scratch below the surface of songs like London Skinhead Crew and Only Fools Get Caught, and you will find it awash with references of the Irons. In a recent interview, guitarist Liam told us that they resisted that temptation this time round as there’s only so many songs you can write about losing!

And thankfully for Dimitri Payet, the album was completed before he showed his true colours, and as Liam put it, ‘there’s only a few words that rhyme with tosser anyway!’

The football element of Booze & Glory will always be relevant, purely because the sound they have created is much more lads in the pub than the over produced, chorus led anthems coming out of Boston.

Chapter lV is a distinct punk album, but there’s is an element of The Libertines involved, particularly in The Time Is Now. The track opens with a raw riff that is very similar to the jaunty opening of Can’t Stand Me Now, before launching into a true, balls out, brilliant punk anthem.

Booze & Glory now have greater label backing than ever before, so pay close attention. 2017 is going to be a big year for them, and you don’t want to miss out on this album. Crack open a can of larger, turn up your speakers and blast this beauty at full volume – this album is a neighbour aggravating piece of gold!